


i've taken my lungs out, 'cause you are the air i breathe

by LilacsAndLilies



Series: Parkner Week 2020!!! [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Asthma, Asthmatic Peter Parker, Bullying, Day 3, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Glasses, High School, M/M, Minor Injuries, Nurses, Parkner Week 2020, Poor Peter Parker, Pre-Spider Bite Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25690555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacsAndLilies/pseuds/LilacsAndLilies
Summary: Getting bullied was a regular Tuesday for Peter (or any other day of the week for that matter). It's the 'being saved by the cute new kid' part that's different this time. Peter definitely wouldn't complain about the change though, not when it introduced him to Harley Keener.Parkner Week Day 3: “I am very small and I have no money.” / college au / no-powers au
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Series: Parkner Week 2020!!! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859662
Comments: 17
Kudos: 157
Collections: Parkner Week 2020





	i've taken my lungs out, 'cause you are the air i breathe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [impravidus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/impravidus/gifts).



Peter wished he could say this was new, but sadly, it wasn’t. He winced as he felt his back hit the lockers. That was definitely going to leave a bruise. He heard his inhaler drop to the ground as he was slammed against the hard metal a second time.

“Can’t believe you still try to come to school here. Everyone knows you don’t belong.” Dan, one of the kids on the football team, sneered at him. 

His friend Luke came up from behind him, gripping onto Peter’s shirt and lifting him into the air. “Everyone knows that you’re poor. Your shoes have holes in them and your notebooks are falling apart. If it wasn’t for that scholarship, there’s no way you would be here.” Luke jerked him back and forth and his glasses went crashing to the ground.

Peter wanted to yell at them, prove that he belonged, but he couldn’t say they were wrong. They weren’t. He would have had no chance at Midtown if not for the scholarship he had secured. He and May could barely afford to pay rent, let alone attend one of the most prestigious schools in the country. 

He dropped onto the floor with a thud and he felt his chest tighten. It was getting difficult to breathe. Peter reached out for his inhaler and glasses, his hand scrambling as he flailed around, desperately searching for his things. He looked up only to see blurry faces coming towards him. Peter started to panic. He dropped onto his elbows and knees, desperately trying to make out where his glasses were. He tried to slow down, calm his panic. 

In front of him Dan, or maybe Luke laughed. The sound grated on Peter’s ears as he felt his heartbeat pick up in panic. "Aw, the school's poor kid can't find his glasses."

Peter heard a skidding sound and then a crash, before more laughter rang through the halls. With his luck, they probably kicked his inhaler into a locker and broke it. He coughed and continued to search for his glasses. 

"Hey!" Peter heard a new voice, one with a southern twang to it. Some small part of Peter’s brain reminded him that there was a new student coming in today and that they had moved from the south. This must be them, because no New Yorker could ever sound like that. "Leave him alone."

"Look who we have here, the new kid." Peter heard footsteps as the figures in front of him walked away. "Why should we?"

"Because doing that is an asshole move, don't ya know?" He sounded cocky, and Peter almost wanted to warn him for his own safety, but he fell back, suddenly feeling lightheaded. His head was pounding and he was wheezing, he needed his inhaler. 

Dan laughed. "And who's gonna stop us?" 

"Me." Peter looked away from the three figures standing in the crowded hallway, turning his attention back towards finding his glasses. He didn't need to get in trouble, and if he found them, maybe he could get the other kid to leave before he got in trouble too. 

"You, huh? Looks like someone's asking to be our new target Luke." Peter didn't need to see to know there was a smirk plastered on Dan's face. 

"Pick on someone your own size, why don't ya?"

Peter heard a punch and winced. He looked back towards the fight to see the new kid (or at least, the blurry figure he assumed was the new kid) fall back, clutching his stomach. "Now you've done it." 

Some more blows were exchanged before eventually, Peter heard heels clicking as a teacher rushed down the hall. "Break it up!" She came over, pushing the two boys aside. "What is going on here?"

Peter recognized the voice. It was Ms. Silvia, one of the only teachers in the school who didn't think the football team could do no wrong. That made her Peter’s favorite teacher. He decided now was a good time to speak up. "Those two boys hit the new kid because he was defending me."

He couldn’t really tell what happened after that, but Ms. Silvia walked over to the new kid. Her voice was stern as she said, "Fighting is not allowed here, the rules don't change just because you're new." She paused before continuing in a softer voice. "Go down to the clinic, get that checked out. Take Peter with you. Then come to the principal's office." Then her voice grew harsher again as she turned to the bullies. "You two, principal. Now." The two figures walked away, Ms. Silvia following close behind them. Peter felt his panic lessen.

The other figure walked up to him, grabbing something off the ground and handing it to Peter, before joining him in sitting on the floor. Peter immediately recognized his glasses and slid them onto his face. With the sudden clarity, Peter was able to get a better look at the new kid. His blond hair was wavy and his bright blue eyes were looking straight into Peter's. "Are you ok?"

Peter shook his head. His chest felt even tighter. "Inhaler."

The other kid's eyes grew wide as he nodded. He reached over, grabbing something from the lockers. "Here."

Peter grabbed the device out of the blond's hand and shoved it in his mouth. He pressed down on the button, taking a deep breath as he started to relax. 

"Are you feeling better now?" The other boy looked at him, worried. 

Peter nodded. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

The boy scrunched his eyes. "For what?"

"You didn't need to get involved and get in trouble during your first week. They do this all the time." Peter tried to shrug it off. 

The other boy got up, reaching out a hand for Peter to grab before pulling him up as well. "Exactly why I needed to do something. You can’t just let them go on like that. Why do they pick on you?"

Peter felt something warm inside of him at the sight of someone who actually seemed to care about the bullying he had been facing all year. "I am very small and I have no money.”

Harley let out a short laugh. “The two main reasons anyone bullies anyone.” 

Peter was grateful for the lack of questions. “Thank you for standing up to them like that. You didn't have to."

"But I wanted to." He grinned. "My name's Harley. And who might you be?" He thickened his accent, bowing dramatically. 

Peter laughed at the clear southern voice. "My name is Peter. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet ya too."

They began to walk down the hall towards the nurse's office. In the back of his mind, Peter registered a different type of pain growing on his back from the bruises, but they didn't seem to bother him as much. He was too busy getting to know Harley. 

Harley smiled, leading them through the hallway as he talked about how he had moved here and some things about himself. Peter reciprocated with talking about himself, and about growing up in New York. They barely noticed when they reached the nurse.

The woman in question threw a fond look at Peter and shook her head, leading him towards the chair which practically had his name on it, considering how often he was there. Then she left to get some bandages for Harley’s bruised knuckles, leaving the two of them sitting next to each other. They continued to talk, the conversation soon turning to other things, like classes and details about life.

Peter smiled at every word Harley said, laughed at all the jokes, and frowned at all of the sad stories. Harley seemed to charm him with every word and Peter couldn’t help but feel a little grateful that the incident had happened. Him getting pushed into lockers was a daily occurrence, but finding someone who wanted to talk to him, someone who made him smile like this? That had never happened before. 

Peter wore his heart on his sleeve and he knew it. His face showed his every emotion. He had grown used to reactions to his own sob stories. So when Harley didn’t even bat an eyelash at Peter’s admission that he lived with his aunt and uncle? Peter wondered if this was what falling in love was like. 

Harley was closed in a way that even Peter could tell that there were stories hiding behind his easy grin. Peter wanted to know them. He could have kept talking for days, but the nurse soon finished up, ushering them out and back to class. 

“I’ll walk you to the office? My class is on the way.” Peter was going to take every moment he could get. 

Harley nodded in appreciation and they walked down the hall, the conversation slowly coming to a lull. When they reached the door, Harley stopped and turned to face Peter. Absentmindedly, Peter wondered, should he ask if Harley wanted to sit next to him during lunch? How did he make sure he kept contact? He wasn’t going to make a move or anything unless he knew Harley was gay, and even then, he didn’t think Harley would accept, but in order to know, he needed to keep the blond around.

Harley solved the issue for him. “Hey, so, tell me if I made the wrong assumption here, but I was wondering if you would like to go out on a date?” He smiled at Peter, and if it wasn’t for his fidgeting hands, Peter wouldn’t have been able to tell he was nervous. 

“I- uh.” Peter had never been asked out before, how did he deal with this?

Harley's face fell as he took a step back. “Sorry if I misunderstood. You don’t need to say anything.” He turned to walk into the office.

“No wait!” Peter grabbed hold of Harley’s hand, turning the other boy back to facing him again. “I would love to go on a date with you.” 

Harley’s cheeks flushed. “Oh, uh, ok.” He just looked at Peter for a second before shaking his head. “I’ll text you the details?”

“Sure, here’s my number.” Peter dropped his backpack on the ground, rummaging through it until he found a post it note and a pencil. He scribbled his number on the note and stuck it to Harley’s backpack strap. “See you around Harley, don’t get yourself into too much trouble.” Peter smiled, trying to force fake confidence as he walked down the hall to his class. 

And when he eventually turned around, his eyes met Harley’s still staring back at him. Peter blushed. Looks like things were finally going well for him. 

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me on tumblr @lilacsandlilies4  
> or on discord @LilacsAndLilies#4691


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